TICK TOCK: IS IT TIME TO DITCH DAYLIGHT SAVINGS?

Every spring and fall, the hands of time dance forward and backward with Daylight Saving Time – a divisive tradition that has us all wondering, is it time for a permanent change? 

DST is a phrase that most people groan at. Over the years, there has been a debate on the usefulness of DST, and if we need it.  

The idea of Daylight Savings was brought up in a satirical essay by Benjamin Franklin. While he did not invent the idea of DST, he suggested that Parisians change their sleep schedules to save some money on candles. Little did Ole Ben know that this was not going to be so satirical in the future. In 1907, we finally get to a British man named William Willet, the official creative force behind DST. He was builder, but also a regular morning horse rider who was deeply bothered by all the daylight “wasted” in the early hours, so thus Daylight Savings Time was sprung forward by his P.R. campaign. 

Throughout the years since its creation, more people have doubted the usefulness of DST. A group of students here at Mt. Hood Community College were asked their opinion on DST by The Advocate and only 2 out of 10 were for it, while the rest were against it. 

Most students could not see a positive point in DST other than providing more light in the evening, which has not been needed as much since the invention of handheld lights. Some individuals like to argue that DST saves energy, but according to a study by Science Direct, after we all spring forward each March, electricity use actually goes up by 1.5%. On top of that, gasoline usage goes up by .5 to 1%. None of this seems quite useful to the public. 

Additionally, changing from DST and back each November and March significantly disrupts sleep schedules and disturbs the biological clock. 

Our internal clocks have a massive impact on our bodies and how we function. Not only does DST make it hard to adjust to the new sleep schedule, but disturbances have a direct effect on seasonal depression. According to “The Rhythms of Life,” a book by Leon Kreitzman, disturbances on the biological clock can increase mental health issues, especially depression. We can see this to be true by looking at Seasonal Affected Depression which is worse in the fall/winter, but isn’t made any better by the switching of clocks twice every year. 

DST affects our energy and gasoline consumption and affects mental health and seems pointless. On the West Coast, residents have approved state initiatives to do away with the clock switches and Congress has taken a look but action has not gone far – the proposal is known as the Sunshine Protection Act. If it were enacted, we would have DST all year, rather than eight months, eliminating the need to switch back and forth – but continuing the energy trends, and so on. 

Now the question to you is, What do you think should happen?